Neighborhood Organizing Work-teams – NOW – is a tool for organizing and understanding neighborhoods and improving them.
Here’s how they work:
A group of neighbors get together and form a team in order to gather data and information about a neighborhood, organize the information, analyze it, prioritize areas to improve or support, make a plan to achieve those goals, and put those initiatives into action.
Here are steps to set up your own NOW:
1) A group of neighbors forms a NOW
2) Start gathering data and information about your neighborhood:
1) Demographics a) population b)Incomes c)Ages d) Housing e) health f) Identities: gender, ethnicity, religion, values
2) History a) prehistoric b ) First Nations c) settlers d) decades
3) Geography a) parks b) wildlife c)geology
4) Economy a) restaurants b) cafes c) shops d) grocery stores e) factories f) repair shops g) mechanics
5) Culture a) music venues, music studios b) cinema c) theater d) crafts e) arts f) languages g) cuisine h) festivals i) public art j) architecture k) religions l) cultures
6) Resources 1) schools 2) non-profits 3) churches 4) clinics 4) government offices 5) unions 6) business districts 7) libraries 8) gyms 9) sports 10) clubs 11) buildings 12) facilities
7) Traffic and Transportation a) roads b) busses c) street cars d) light rail e) bicycles f) pedestrian g) scooters h) skateboards i) other i) traffic lights j) cross walks k) deaths l) injuries m) innovations
8) technology a) internet b) computers c) cell towers d) satellites e) AI f) robots g) drones h)
9) Identity, Branding, marketing
a) logo b) banners c) landmarks d) website e) social media f) newsletters g) flyers h) postcards
3) Set up technology to store and organize this information:
a) Notebooks b)note cards and post-its c) Books d) documents e) public art f) historical marks g) spreadsheets h) databases i) website j) Google workspace i) internet tools j)peer to peer k) Neighborworking l) District coalition m) City n) State
4 Analyze and Organize the information
a) assets b) issues c) strengths d) weaknesses e) crises f) opportunities g) preservation needs h) innovation needs i) priorities
5) Create a plan to achieve the priorities for the neighborhood
a) work teams b)people c) work parties d) action groups e) neighborhood association f) District coalition e) committees f) partnerships g) grants h) fundraising i) technology j) festivals k) picnics l) business initiatives m) street fairs n) State o) County p) Metro q) Federal r) International (UN, Nato, Red Cross, Doctors without borders, Shelter kit, Mercy Corps) s) Love Brigades
*WOW NOW is a fun nickname for this tool and captures the immediate wonderful results that come out of it – as we achieve “WOW NOW”. Wow also is an approximate acronym for We All Win (or We Only Win) – or We Organize Wisely.